George Ernest Morrison
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n adventure
Adventure
An adventure is defined as an exciting or unusual experience; it may also be a bold, usually risky undertaking, with an uncertain outcome. The term is often used to refer to activities with some potential for physical danger, such as skydiving, mountain climbing and or participating in extreme sports...
r and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Peking
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
correspondent.
Early life
Morrison was born in Geelong, VictoriaGeelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His father George Morrison (brother of Alexander Morrison
Alexander Morrison (headmaster)
Alexander Morrison was Headmaster of Scotch College, Melbourne, Australia, for 47 years.-Early life:Morrison was born Edinkillie, Morayshire, Scotland, sixth son of Donald Morrison, a farmer, and his wife Catherine née Fraser. Alexander was educated at the Elgin Academy and King's College,...
) was headmaster of The Geelong College
The Geelong College
The Geelong College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Newtown, an inner-western suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia....
at which school the boy was educated. During a vacation before his tertiary education, he walked from Geelong to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, a distance of about 600 miles (960 km). He initially studied at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
. After passing his first year medicine he took a vacation trip down the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
in a canoe from Albury, New South Wales
Albury, New South Wales
Albury is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia, located on the Hume Highway on the northern side of the Murray River. It is located wholly within the boundaries of the City of Albury Local Government Area...
to the mouth, a distance of 1650 miles (2,640 km), covered in 65 days. Failing in his next examinations he shipped on a vessel trading to the South Sea islands, discovered some of the evils of the kanaka
Kanakas
Kanaka was the term for a worker from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia , Fiji and Queensland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
traffic, and wrote articles on it which appeared in The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
and had some influence on the eventual suppression of it. He next visited New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and did part of the return journey on a Chinese junk. Landing at Normanton, Queensland
Normanton, Queensland
-External links:****...
at the end of 1882 Morrison decided to walk to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He was not quite 21, he had no horses or camels and was unarmed, but carrying his swag and swimming or wading the rivers in his path, he walked the 2043 miles (3270 km) in 123 days. No doubt the country had been much opened up since the days of Burke and Wills, but the journey was nevertheless a remarkable feat, which stamped Morrison as a great natural bushman and explorer. He arrived at Melbourne on 21 April 1883 to find that during his journey Thomas McIlwraith
Thomas McIlwraith
Sir Thomas McIlwraith KCMG was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1877 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893...
, the premier of Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, had annexed part of New Guinea, and was vainly endeavouring to get the support of the British government for his action.
New Guinea
Financed by The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald, Morrison was sent on an exploration journey to New GuineaNew Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. He sailed from Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown, Queensland
Cooktown is a small town located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. At the 2006 census, Cooktown had a population of 1,336...
in a small lugger
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
, arriving at Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
after a stormy passage. On 24 July 1883 Morrison with a small party started with the intention of crossing to Dyke Acland Bay
Dyke Acland Bay
Dyke Acland Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. Located off southern Bathurst Island, the bay is an arm of Parry Channel.It is named after Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet....
100 miles (160 km) away. Much high mountain country barred the way, and it took 38 days to cover 50 miles. The natives became hostile, and about a month later Morrison was struck by two spears and almost killed. Retracing their steps, with Morrison strapped to a horse, Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
was reached in days. Here Morrison received medical attention but it was more than a month before he reached the hospital at Cooktown. In spite of his misfortune Morrison had penetrated farther into New Guinea than any previous white man. Much the better for a week in hospital Morrison went on to Melbourne, but he still carried the head of a spear in his body and no local surgeon was anxious to probe for it in the condition of surgery in that day.
Graduation and further travels
Morrison's father decided to send the young man to John Chiene, professor of surgery at Edinburgh university, the operation was successful, and Morrison took up his medical studies again, at EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. He graduated M.B. Ch.M. on 1 August 1887.
After his graduation Morrison travelled extensively in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the West Indies, and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, where he became medical officer at the Rio Tinto mine. He then proceeded to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, became physician to the Shereef of Wazan, and did some travelling in the interior. Study at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
under Dr Charcot followed before he returned to Australia in 1890, and for two years was resident surgeon at the Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
hospital.
Far East
Leaving the hospital in May 1893 he went to the Far East, and in February 1894 began a journey from ShanghaiShanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
to Rangoon. He went partly by boat up the Yangtze River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
and rode and walked the remainder of the 3000 miles (4800 km). He completed the journey in 100 days at a total cost of £18, which included the wages of two or three Chinese servants whom he picked up and changed on the way as he entered new districts. He was quite unarmed and then knew hardly more than a dozen words of Chinese. But he was willing to conform to and respect the customs of the people he met, and everywhere was received with courtesy. In his interesting account of his journey, An Australian in China, published in 1895, while speaking well of the personalities of the many missionaries he met, he consistently belittled their success in obtaining converts. In after years he regretted this, as he felt he had given a wrong impression by not sufficiently stressing the value of their social and medical work.
After his arrival at Rangoon, Morrison went to Calcutta where he became seriously ill with remittant fever and nearly died. On recovering he went to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, presented a thesis to the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
on "Heredity as a Factor in the Causation of Disease", and received his M.D. degree in August 1895. He was introduced to Moberly Bell, editor of The Times, who appointed him a special correspondent in the east. In November he went to Siam
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
where there were Anglo-French difficulties, and travelled much in the interior. Morrison was very doubtful about his first communication to The Times and showed it to a friend who, in a letter to The Times about the time of Morrison's death, spoke of it as a perfect diagnosis of the then troubled condition of China, masterly in its phrasing, luminous in its broad conception of the general situation". His reports attracted much attention both in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. From Siam he crossed into southern China and at Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
was again seriously ill. Curing himself he made his way through Siam to Bangkok, a journey of nearly a thousand miles.
The Times correspondent
In February 1897 The Times appointed Morrison as the first permanent correspondent at Peking, and he took up his residence there in the following month. Unfortunately, his lack of knowledge in the Chinese language meant that he could not verify his stories and there is now much evidence to suggest that some of his reports contained both bias and deliberate lies against China. There was much Russian activity in Manchuria at this time and in June Morrison went to VladivostokVladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
. He travelled over a thousand miles to Stretensk and then across Manchuria to Vladivostok again. He reported to The Times that Russian engineers were making preliminary surveys from Kirin towards Port Arthur (Lüshunkou
Lüshunkou
Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....
). On the very day his communication arrived in London, 6 March 1898, The Times received a telegram from Morrison to say that Russia had presented a five-day ultimatum to China demanding the right to construct a railway to Port Arthur. This was a triumph for The Times and its correspondent, but he had also shown prophetic insight in another phrase of his dispatch, when he stated that "the importance of Japan in relation to the future of Manchuria cannot be disregarded". Germany had occupied Kiao-chao towards the end of 1897, and a great struggle for political preponderacy was going on. Morrison in his telegrams showed "the prescience of a statesman and the accuracy of an historian" (The Times, 21 May 1920).
In January 1899 he went to Siam and was able to point out that there was no need for French interference in that country, which was quite capable of governing itself. Later in the year he went to England, and early in 1900 paid a short visit to his relations in Australia. Returning to the east by way of Japan he then visited Korea before returning to Peking. The Boxer Uprising
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
broke out soon after, and during the siege of the legations from June to August Morrison as an acting-lieutenant showed great courage, always ready to volunteer for every service of danger. He was superficially wounded in July but was erroneously reported as killed. He was afterwards able to read his highly laudatory obituary notice, which occupied two columns of The Times on 17 July 1900. After a siege of 55 days, the legations were relieved on 14 August 1900 by an army of various nationalities under General Gaselee. The army then ransacked much of the palaces in Peking, with Morrison taking part in the looting, making off with silks, furs, porcelain and bronzes. There was great uncertainty regarding the future of China in the following months, and through The Times Morrison managed to depict a skewed picture before the British public. While Russia and Japan united in opposing any dismemberment of China, the country was nevertheless punished by the imposition of a heavy indemnity. When the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
broke out on 10 February 1904 Morrison became a correspondent with the Japanese army. He was present at the entry of the Japanese into Port Arthur (now Lüshunkou
Lüshunkou
Lüshunkou is a district in the municipality of Dalian, Liaoning province, China. Also called Lüshun City or Lüshun Port, it was formerly known as both Port Arthur and Ryojun....
) early in 1905, and represented The Times at the Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...
, U.S.A., peace conference. In 1907 he crossed China from Peking to the French border of Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, and in 1910 rode from Honan across Asia to Andijan
Andijan
Andijan or Andizhan is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. It is located in the east of the country, at , in the Fergana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River...
in Russian Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
, a journey of 3750 miles (6,000 km) which was completed in 175 days. From Andijan he took train to St Peterburg, and then travelled to London arriving on 29 July 1910. He returned to China and, when plague broke out in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, went to Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
, where a great Chinese physician, Dr. Wu Lien-teh
Wu Lien-teh
Dr. Wu Lien-teh was a Malayan-born Chinese and the first medical student of Chinese descent to study at University of Cambridge. He was also the first Malaysian Chinese nominated to receive a Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1935...
, succeeded in staying the spread of a mortal sickness which seemed to threaten the whole world. Morrison did his part by publishing a series of articles advocating the launching of a modern scientific public health service in China. When the Chinese revolution began in 1911 Morrison took the side of the revolutionaries and the Chinese republic was established early in 1912.
Political advisor
In August Morrison resigned his position on The Times to become political adviser to the Chinese government at a salary equivalent to £4000 a year, and immediately went to London to assist in floating a Chinese loan of £10,000,000. In China during the following years he had an anxious time advising, and endeavouring to deal with the political intrigues that were continually going on. He visited Australia again in December 1917 and returned to Peking in February 1918. He represented China during the peace discussions at VersaillesVersailles
Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
in 1919, but his health began to give way and he retired to England well aware that he had only a short time to live. He died on 30 May, 1920 at Sidmouth
Sidmouth
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon, South West England. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, south east of Exeter. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and is buried there.
Personal life
Morrison had married in 1912 Jennie Wark Robin (1889-1923), his former secretary, who survived him for only three years. His three sons, IanIan Morrison
Ian Ernest McLeavy Morrison was an Australian journalist and war correspondent for The Times. He was one of the first journalists to be killed in the Korean War...
(1913-1950), Alastair Gwynne (1915-2009), and Colin (1917-1990), all grew to manhood and graduated at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
Legacy
Although Morrison did not speak Chinese, he was an avid collector of Chinese books and in 1917 Morrison's remarkable library, which contained the largest number of books on China ever collected, was sold to businessman Baron Iwasaki of TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
for £35,000 in 1917, with the proviso that serious students should have access to it. This subsequently became the foundation of the Oriental Library
Toyo Bunko
The , or "Oriental Library", is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest. It also functions as a research institute dedicated to the study of Asian history and culture. It has greatly contributed to the development of Asian Studies through the acquisition of books...
in Tokyo. In 1932 the inaugural "George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology" was delivered at Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, a fund having been established by Chinese residents of Australia to provide for an annual lecture in Morrison's memory.
Morrison was a tall, somewhat ungainly and fearless man. His life was full of adventure, but through all his adventures he carried an inquiring mind that gathered experience and knowledge from everything that happened. It is therefore ironic that Sir Robert Hart
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet
Sir Robert Hart, 1st Baronet, GCMG , was a British consular official in China, who served as the second Inspector General of China's Imperial Maritime Custom Service from 1863 to 1911.-Early life:...
, who was in Peking at the same time as Morrison and witnessed his conduct and read his inaccurate newspaper reports, regarded him as a lazy, self-indulgent man, intolerant, racist, and unprincipled. For nearly 20 years " Morrison of Peking" was a name familiar in all parts of the world.
See also
- Anglo-Chinese relationsAnglo-Chinese relationsBritish–Chinese relations , also known as Sino-British relations and Anglo-Chinese relations, refers to the interstate relations between China and the United Kingdom. Although on opposing sides of the Cold War, both countries were allies during World War II, and are members of the UN...
- Ernest Satow who met Morrison many times in Peking, 1900-06
Further reading
- Lo Hui-min, The Correspondence of G.E. Morrison - 2 vols, (Cambridge U. Press, 1976).
- Clune, Frank, Sky High to Shanghai - (Angus & Robertson, Sydney 1941).
- Peter Thompson and Robert Macklin ,The man who died twice: the life and adventures of Morrison of Peking - (Allen & Unwin, 2004. isbn:1741140129)
External links
- J. S. Gregory, ' Morrison, George Ernest (Chinese) (1862 - 1920)', Australian Dictionary of BiographyAustralian Dictionary of BiographyThe Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's history....
, Vol. 10, MUP, 1986, pp.593-596. - Digital Archive of Toyo BunkoToyo BunkoThe , or "Oriental Library", is Japan's largest Asian studies library and one of the world's five largest. It also functions as a research institute dedicated to the study of Asian history and culture. It has greatly contributed to the development of Asian Studies through the acquisition of books...
Rare Books: 27 rare books selected from the collection of Dr. George Ernest Morrison.
- "Dr George Morrison and his Correspondence," An Appreciation by C.P. FitzGerald forward to The Correspondence of George E. Morrison, 1895-1912, edited by Lo Hui-min (Cambridge University Press, 1974), vol.1, pp.vii-xiv.